The Magic in the City
by hilarycantdraw
Summary: Some nice B/B fluff. What happens when our two favorite partners spend a night in NYC for a formal event? Lots of wonderful fluff!
1. Chapter 1

**I realize that I haven't updated The Secret of the Anthropologist for more than a week now, and I'm sorry about that! I'm working on it, but I'm a little stuck on some things, I'll get a new chapter soon hopefully, but finals are approaching and my fun writing time is quickly decreasing. But, I have this nice fluffy story I'm starting for all of you fantastic readers. Since fluff is easier to write than an actual plot, this should be done fairly quickly. I got the idea for this while dress shopping with my younger sister and I saw the most fabulous dress and the daydream stemmed from there. I hope you enjoy it! Any type of feedback makes my day =)**

"Hey Booth," Brennan asked hesitantly one afternoon as the partners sat in the diner, "I sort of have a favor to ask you."

"A favor?" He paused mid-bite, a forkful of apple pie dangling inches from his mouth, "What kind of favor?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

She sighed, "My publisher is insisting that I attend a function in New York. It's some sort of toity-hoity dinner and apparently if I show up alone I will come across as a social pariah and never sell another book."

Booth ate a few bites of pie thoughtfully before responding, "First of all, the saying is hoity-toity, and second when is this thing?"

"In two weekends, I know you don't have Parker that weekend or I wouldn't have asked," she said taking a sip of coffee while regarding him carefully, trying to figure out whether or not he'd agree.

"I'd have to wear a suit?"

"Yes, and I will have to wear a dress. Which means a shopping marathon with Angela," she cringed inwardly. As much as she loved Ange, spending hours running different stores trying on dresses was not Brennan's idea of fun.

Booth considered this, yes he'd have to wear a tux, but he would be spending an entire evening away from DC with his partner, who would undoubtedly look amazing in whatever dress she and Angela bought. "When would we have to leave?"

"Friday around lunch, we'll get ready there; I'm getting a suite room at the hotel where the function will be held. So we will probably spend the night, the drive back would be too much for one night, but don't worry the suite will have multiple rooms," she trailed off, realizing that she was beginning to ramble. "So do you think you can go?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Sure, I suppose that I could. Anything to keep you from being labeled a pariah. Where in New York is it being held?"

"It's at The Plaza, apparently its beautiful there," she shrugged.

Booth choked on the coffee, "Isn't that a little expensive?"

Brennan simply shrugged again, "The company is paying for everything for me, but apparently tickets to the dinner are very expensive. Everything for us gets put on the company's tab, dinner, drinks, breakfast, they're even paying for my gas."

"So, wait, everything is free?"

Brennan nodded, "We even get champagne and chocolates in our room."

Booth smiled, "How could I possibly say no to that?"

"I'm assuming that is a rhetorical question, because it would obviously be quite easy to say no." And with that their conversation slipped back into playful banter for the rest of their lunch.

oOoOoOo

Once Brennan returned to the lab, she headed straight for Angela's office, "Angela I need to find a dress, do you think we could go shopping this weekend?" As much as she hated shopping, Brennan knew that without Angela she would never find a suitable outfit.

Angela smiled, she knew how much her friend hated shopping, "Of course, Bren. When have I ever said no to shopping? That's a rhetorical question," she added as Brennan opened her mouth to speak. "So, what do you need a dress for?"

"A formal event that my publisher is forcing me to attend in New York City, I'm not looking forward to it too much," she sighed. "You know how much I hate these events, but hopefully it won't be too unbearable since Booth will be coming with me."

"Booth's going with you?" Angela raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, apparently it is against social normalcy to attend an event such as this one without an escort of the opposite sex. I don't understand why, though," Brennan's brow furrowed.

"Sweetie, you're bringing Booth as a date not an 'opposite sex escort,'" Angela said with a laugh.

"Is it inappropriate that I invited him? Because I could call him and cancel," Brennan said nervously, wondering why she couldn't just know social rules like everyone else did.

"Bren, no. You two will have fun together," she insisted with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "We can go shopping this weekend. We will find something fabulous." Angela flashed her friend a grin, "We haven't had girl time in like forever. We can do dinner and everything. And maybe the day before you have to leave we can go get our nails done."

"Yeah, Ange, that sounds good," Brennan agreed reluctantly.

"Great! I'll make sure you look fantastic, Bren. Maybe this will finally be the catalyst for you and Booth to stop with this 'just partners' crap, because you know-" Angela was quickly cut off by Brennan.

"I have work to do, Angela," she quickly left her friend's office, not noticing the artist rolling her eyes at the hasty departure.

oOoOoOo

Saturday came quickly, and by four in the afternoon Brennan had tried on more dresses than she could have counted. She was standing in front of a mirror with Angela on a couch behind her.

"That is the dress," Angela said for what must have been the thousandth time, "it's absolutely gorgeous Bren."

Brennan had to admit that the dress she was wearing was beautiful. It was silver with a gem covered bodice and sparkles that got increasingly smaller as they moved down the dress. The gown hugged her curves perfectly. The dress had a knee length slit and was sleeveless, yet still fairly modest. But it was flashy and ostentatious and very un-Brennan, "Ange, it's too… shiny."

"Bren, how many times do I have to tell you? This is not a gala at the Jeffersonian. This is a New York City banquet shiny is acceptable there. You look ridiculously stunning in that gown. I refuse to let you leave this store without it." She crossed her arms over her chest, and Brennan sighed, knowing that Angela wouldn't back down.

"Fine, I'll buy it," Brennan huffed.

Angela grinned, "We'll have to find you some sparkly earrings to go with it. And you need shoes, at least since you're bringing Booth you can wear heels without being taller than your date."

"I told you Booth's not-"

"Your date. I know. He is your 'male escort' or whatever you called it, but You can call it whatever you want, sweetie, but in reality he is your date. Now go change, we have more shopping to do.

Three hours later they finally made it to dinner, shopping bags in tow. Brennan was finding herself more and more apprehensive about her supposed date with her partner.

oOoOoOo

By the time Brennan and Booth were in the car on Friday afternoon her nerves hadn't completely abated. She had spent the entire week with Angela constantly making innuendos, even more than usual.

"Hey Bones, are you all right? You're awfully quiet today," Booth looked over at his partner, who had barely said two words the entire day. She hadn't even asked to drive, he was starting to worry.

She snapped out of her reverie, "Yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired, I think I'll take a nap," she leaned her head back and spent the rest of the trip pretending to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**The first chapter has had such a great response that I couldn't help myself but to update again today! I hope everyone enjoys it. Oh and I couldn't remember if Brennan's current publicist on the show has a name, so I named her myself, I apologize in advance if I'm wrong.**

"Are we here?" Brennan said, straightening up in her seat as the car pulled to a stop.

"Yeah, wow this place is huge," Booth replied, gazing at the towering building beside them.

"Booth, we have to get out so that the valet can take the car," Brennan said, slightly impatient. "Our bags will be brought to our room," she added as he got out and reached for his suitcase, "we just need to go get our keys."

As they walked into the hotel, Brennan's reaction matched Booth's from their arrival. She gazed around the lavish lobby in wonder. The hotel really was beautiful. Brennan gave her name to the concierge and received a key in return.

As soon as they were in the elevator, Booth turned and said, "Admit it Bones, you're surprised by how nice it is too. I saw the look you had when we walked in."

Brennan considered this as they left the elevator and headed for their room. "Well I do have to admit that it's a very nice hotel, if not a bit over the top. Wow," she said as she unlocked their door, "look at this room."

Booth would have argued that their suites had multiple rooms, but he was too busy ogling the flat screen television set.

oOoOoOo

They only had a little over an hour to get ready and Brennan found herself rushing to get dressed. She showered quickly and fixed her hair into the careful up-do Angela had shown her, leaving her bangs down to frame her face. She kept her make-up basic, some pink blush, light red lipstick, and smoky eye shadow. She put in her silver dangling earrings and pulled on her dress, zipping it as far as she could.

"Booth?" She called, moving into the sitting area where she could see him sitting, facing away from her, watching some sports event on the TV. He was already wearing his tux.

"Mhm?" He responded absentmindedly, eyes glued to the screen.

"Do you mind zipping me up?" She moved around the couch. His eyes widened as he looked at his partner. Sure he had seen her dressed up before, but this dress was a whole new level. It seemed to capture every light in the room, shimmering with every movement she made. As if her presence didn't already distract him completely, he had no idea how he would ever manage to take his eyes off her now.

"Wow," he said quietly as he stood and finished her zipper.

"Do I look 'hot' again, like in Vegas?" She asked, with the slightest hint of sarcasm that was tinged with self-consciousness.

He shook his head, "Not hot, tonight you look beautiful, absolutely stunningly beautiful."

His earnest response brought a blush to her cheeks, "Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself." His tuxedo was perfectly fitted to his muscular frame.

"Thanks Bones. Shall we head down?" He said, offering his arm and wondering whether she would take it or begin a lecture about strong women not needing to be linked to men. To his surprise, and even a bit to her own, she took the offered arm with a small smile.

They made their way down to the ballroom where the dinner was being held in relative silence. Brennan could feel her nerves mounting; she really hated large events. The hours of mindless chit-chat, of people sidling up to her forcing her to talk about her books trying to get her to divulge new plot-points, having to dance with every man who asked her while attempting to keep their roaming hands in check. The only good thing was that at least Booth was with her.

"Dr. Brennan," her publicist called to her as soon as they entered the ballroom.

"Hello Erin, how are you?" Brennan asked cordially.

"Fine thanks," she answered, eying Booth.

"Erin, this is my partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth. Booth this is my publicist, Erin." Brennan watched as they shook hands, then Erin directed them to their table.

The dinner was delicious and Brennan found that with Booth there she wasn't constantly looked towards as a source for conversation. He kept a steady flow of conversation, telling particularly interesting stories from past cases, and asking questions in all the right places when others told stories. When he left to go to the bathroom, Erin leaned over to Brennan.

"Who knew that a cold fish like you could snag a guy like that?"

Brennan looked at her, confused, "What do you mean?" She hated when people considered her cold.

The publicist rolled her eyes, "Your boyfriend, I don't understand how you ended up with your boyfriend."

"Oh," Brennan said quickly, "Booth is just my work partner."

Erin raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her seat as the man in question returned.

"You okay, Bones?" He asked as he slid into his seat, noticing the blank look on her face.

"Yeah Booth," she forced a small smile, "I'm fine." She lied, in her head she couldn't stop thinking about what Erin had said and wonder if she was right. Booth had told her countless times that she wasn't cold or unfeeling, but maybe her personality was part of the reason they hadn't made any progress in their relationship since months ago when they had been trapped in his building's elevator. She had come close to ruining their friendship so many times that she couldn't simply ignore Erin's thoughtless comment.

As dinner wound down a band began to play melodic jazzy tunes and the dance floor slowly filled. Booth stood up and reached a hand out to her, "Wanna dance Bones?" He flashed her his most charming smile and she couldn't help accepting his hand and smiling back at him. They danced together for a few upbeat songs, and Brennan found herself smiling more and more, and she actually giggled when Booth twirled her around. She found herself wishing that she could dance with him the entire night, but she felt obligated to dance with other men who asked, since the banquet was about publicity after all.

After dancing with at least five different men, none of whom were very good, Brennan found herself sitting back at the table, trying to avoid attention, she didn't feel like dancing with anyone else. She could see Booth on the dance floor with Erin and she bit back a sigh. Her publicist was exactly Booth's type, petite, blonde, and gregarious. When the song ended, Booth headed towards her and sat beside her.

"Hey Bones," he said, "having fun?"

She shrugged as she sipped at her drink, "I never really enjoy events like this."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at her closely, "Are you sure that nothing else is wrong Bones?"

She hesitated before finally answering, "Erin said something to me earlier, not anything that I haven't heard before, but it still stung."

"What did she say?" He glanced over at the woman he'd just finished dancing with, she had seemed nice enough but anyone who upset Bones lost his good opinion immediately.

"She called me a cold fish and she implied that my personality is the reason that I came tonight with my work partner and not a real date." Brennan gazed at her drink, studiously avoiding Booth's gaze.

"Bones," he reached out and took her hand, "you are not cold. How many times do I have to tell you that? You are one of the most warm-hearted people I know, you just let only the people who deserve to see that side of you see it."

She gave him a small smile, "Thanks Booth."

"Do you want to dance again Bones?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed.

"Sure," she let him lead her back to the dance floor. The music turned soft and slow and Booth pulled her in close. They swayed back and forth to the music, and Brennan rested her cheek on Booth's shoulder tiredly. His hand circled softly on her back.

"Tired?" He asked softly, and she felt her nod against his shoulder, "We can head upstairs if you want."

"No, this is nice," she said, and his arm tightened a bit around her, pulling her closer to him, and her arms wrapped around his neck in response until there was no space between them. It was as though they were enveloped in their own bubble where nothing existed but the two of them, warm in each other's arms. When the song ended, the band announced that they were through for the night and thanked everyone for coming.

"Bones," Booth said, taking a small step back, "the music stopped."

"Oh," she blushed slightly, "sorry." He looked down at her shining blue eyes and rosy cheeks and he seemed to be brought back to reality. He was holding his beautiful partner in his arms and she was gazing up at him with this beautifully awed look on her face. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it =)**

The kiss was soft and tender, and Brennan broke it quickly, pulling back, looking puzzled, "You kissed me," she said as though she didn't quite believe it. "Why?"

He couldn't suppress his grin at her typical Brennan curiosity, "Why not? You are the most beautiful, intelligent, caring, stubborn woman I have ever met and I, for one, am tired of pretending that I just want to be partners. I think we've given it enough time, don't you?" This time she was the one to kiss him, "I take it you agree then?"

She smiled up at him, "You are the most infuriating, kind, and handsome man that I have ever met, and yes I agree that the 'just partners' boat has left the harbor."

"I think you mean the ship has sailed, Bones, but I agree."

She laughed, "I like it when you correct me," she admitted on a whisper before kissing him again.

"Wait, you say those things wrong on purpose?" He asked incredulously.

"Sometimes," she whispered mysteriously.

"So I remember you mentioning something about free champagne and chocolates in our room…" Booth trailed off with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Let's go," she grabbed his hand and led him off the dance floor.

As soon as they made it back to their room, they changed into more comfortable clothes and she pulled out the champagne and they settled on the couch. Booth was sort of sad that she had taken off her brilliant dress, but somehow she looked just as beautiful in her simple pajama set.

"Let's play never have I ever," Brennan suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"How do you even know that game?" Apparently, she was full of surprises tonight.

"Angela," he should have guessed, "she taught it to me during one of our 'girl nights' apparently it is a popular drinking game. I'll start, never have I ever gotten drunk off champagne."

He took a sip of his drink, "We'll change that tonight I think. Never have I ever studied Anthropology."

She rolled her eyes and drank, "That's a cheap shot," she complained before countering with her own. "Never have I ever been in the army."

He drank again, "Fine," he thought for a minute, "Never have I ever kissed more than one person on the same night."

She shrugged and drank again, "Never have I ever had sex in a car."

"Never?" He asked before taking a drink, "Hmm… never have I ever had a threesome."

Brennan blushed furiously and drank again; he chose not to ask questions, at least not yet. She decided to change the course of the game before it got too out of hand, "Never have I ever gone sky diving."

"Me either," he said leaving his drink untouched, "but I'd like to try."

"Me too. I think that the adrenaline rush could be quite exhilarating."

He thought for a second before continuing their game, "Never have I ever been to Hawaii."

"It's beautiful there," she said as she sipped her champagne, "never have I ever broken the laws of physics."

He looked into her eyes and they were a deeper blue than he had ever seen them, and he didn't touch his champagne. "Bones, you're sure about this?"

She looked at him sternly, "Questions aren't part of the game, Booth."

"Fine," he huffed, "never have I ever been more sure of anything than my feelings for you."

She rested her glass on the coffee table and stared directly at him, "Never have I ever felt this way about anyone else."

His glass joined hers on the table, "Never have I ever wanted to do anything more than I want to kiss you right now."

"You win," she whispered as she closed the space between them. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as their lips met in a kiss that was hungrier than the one they had shared on the dance floor. This kiss was full of everything they had ever shared between them. There was the tenderness but it was joined by passion and hunger, and remnants of unforgotten pain. The kiss made Brennan's head spin, she had barely had any of the champagne, she knew that it was Booth that was doing this to her. His kiss made her feel drunk. It was a better feeling than any alcohol could have ever hoped to create. After a couple minutes they ended up horizontal on the couch, with Booth hovering over her.

"Booth," she whispered as his lips moved to her neck, "I don't think we should have sex tonight."

A low laugh rumbled in his chest, "I agree, let's just gain our footing and get used to this change in our relationship."

"But maybe we could sleep together? Just sleep, I think that I'd like to fall asleep next to you." She whispered, hesitant. She had never wanted simple intimacy without sex before, and she wasn't completely sure if that was normal.

His eyes met hers and she could see the love in them as he gently pushed a stray hair back from her face, "Of course, Bones. I'd like to sleep next to you too."

She smiled brightly, "I like this. Being with you is like, tangible comfort." She said, trying to explain the warmth that his presence made her feel. As she spoke her fingers trailed lovingly up and down his back, "Angela is going to be excited." She added in a thoughtful tone.

"Angela is going to be thrilled. Our ears will ring for days," Booth smiled, "Did you know that people have been making bets on when we would get together? I wonder who will win."

"Wait," she sat up quickly, "people have been betting on us?"

His smile widened, "People have been betting on us since day one, Bones. How did you not know that?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

For the remainder of the night they sat on the couch, drinking and talking, laughing and kissing, until they both began to yawn and decided it was time for bed.

They went to her room, since she had the bigger bed and crawled into bed. She curled up against him, her head resting on his chest and he dropped a kiss on her hair.

"Goodnight Bones," he said, and she snuggled closer to him.

"Goodnight Booth," she whispered, craning her neck to place a kiss on his jaw. They both fell asleep quickly, wrapped in the comfort of each other's arms, knowing that they'd have to figure things out eventually. But for now it was just them and the sounds of the city thriving outside their window.


	4. Chapter 4

**So this one's short but sweet! It took me forever, I know, you can thank the end of the school year deluge of work for that! The next chapter will be longer, I promise!**

Brennan woke up the next morning and smiled as she remembered the previous night. She was still wrapped in Booth's arms with her head resting on his chest.

"Good morning," his voice vibrated against her ear, it was still rough from sleeping.

She looked up and saw him beaming down at her. "Good morning," she replied, matching his grin with one of her own. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not very," he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead, "you're cute when you're asleep."

She laughed, "How can sleeping be cute?"

"Everything you do is cute." He replied simply, pulling her into a kiss before she could come up with some witty response.

"I could get used to waking up like this," She said with a sigh of contentment.

"You should. I don't plan on letting you wake up alone ever again."

She rolled her eyes but smiled, "You know how I feel about absolutes Booth."

He smirked, "And you know I'm only using it as a figure of speech, Bones. Should we order breakfast in bed?" He asked, not wanting to lose this perfect bubble of contentment they seemed to be in.

"Never have I ever had breakfast in bed," she looked at him playfully. He had never seen this side of her before, this comfortable, carefree side, but it was quickly becoming his favorite aspect of her personality.

"Oh no… we are not starting that again." He laughed, shaking his head as he remembered their game the night before.

"Fine," she pouted.

He smirked in response, "You look like Parker after I told him that ice cream doesn't count as dinner when you make that face." When she stuck her tongue out at him, he felt the urge to kiss the pout away, and he did just that. He reveled in the fact that he no longer had to control those types of impulses around her. "What do you want for breakfast?" He asked as he pulled away.

"You," she said, pulling him closer to her and kissing him hungrily, he groaned in response and kissed her back. "But pancakes could also be sufficient," she said as his lips moved to her throat, and he laughed.

"Pancakes it is then, anything else?" He picked up the menu on the bedside table.

"Breakfast potatoes, and you can get whatever you want. Free, remember?"

He ended up ordering eggs, bacon, and toast. They ate breakfast slowly, biding their time until they had to return to the real world.

"We should probably shower," Brennan said eventually, "check out is in an hour."

Now Booth was the one who was pouting. He never wanted to move from this bed, with Brennan pressed against his side and his arm wrapped around her, "Okay." He finally agreed, "Maybe after we check out we could spend the afternoon exploring Central Park before we have to go back home."

"That'd be nice," she smiled and kissed him on the cheek before heading for the bathroom.

An hour later they were roaming through Central Park. As soon as they had began to walk, Brennan laced her fingers through Booth's. Hand in hand they walked together, talking about everything and nothing and stopping for the occasional kiss.

"For the first time in my life I'm not looking forward to returning to work tomorrow," Brennan said as they sat on a shady bench.

"Tomorrow's Sunday, Bones," he says pointedly.

"I know what day tomorrow is. Not everyone takes Sundays off, Booth. I like working on Sundays because it's always quiet, it lets me think."

"Bones, do you ever take a day off?" He shakes his head and chuckles at the thoughtful look on her face at his statement.

"I take the occasional Saturday off. You used to make me take weekends off, remember?"

He cringed at the _used to_, "Well you're not working tomorrow. We're going to do something fun."

"I can work while you're at church in the morning." She smirked, knowing that he wouldn't skip church.

"Fine," he acquiesced, "I guess that's a good compromise."

"I'm really glad that you came with me last night." She smiled at him, almost shyly and he grinned back.

"I'm glad I came too. Really, really glad." He leaned in and kissed her sweetly.

"I wish we could stay here forever," she sighed, knowing she was being irrational, and that made him smile.

"Bones, your squints would be lost without us. Well mostly without you. We're the center remember?"

"I know. We should probably leave soon, we have a pretty long drive."

"Okay, let's go." He helped her off the bench and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they headed towards the car, towards home.


End file.
